A ‘something’ New Year!

It’s that time; everyone is wishing everyone else ‘a happy New Year’ – so I’d best get on with it?

Trouble is – I can’t; it’s that ‘happiness’ thing, it’s all a bit airy fairy, disappears like the mist when the sun comes up. So what about …

‘hopeful and tranquil’? Well, I’m constantly surprised by the amount of hope I see, and I don’t mean among our leading politians but from people in hopeless situations, (Christians in Palestine are a good example!). As for tranquility, good luck with that!

No, I shall have to settle for ‘Blessed and Peaceful’. So that is my prayer for you who trouble to read my blog, a Blessed and Peaceful 2016 – with qualifications (of course). Despite an income which attracts very little interest from the income tax authorities I’m blessed to be in the top 1% worldwide. So there are 99 people in every 100 who are worse off than I.

And, if you are blessed to pay the top rate of tax you may be surprised to discover that you are in the top 0.1%, so for every 1000 people globally there are 999 who don’t have what you have. That’s not the whole of it either, for, from those ‘other’ 999 you’d need to gather about 600 just to equal your wealth. So, yes, I am wishing you a Blessed 2016, accompanied by the prayer that we will all share our blessings with those who are less blessed. Whether you do that through child sponsorship (e.g. World Vision: £20 pm) or micro finance (e.g. Five Talents £250 pa) may depend on whether you’re into ‘Effective Altruism’ (a plug for my cousin!).

And a Peaceful 2016, reflecting on the reality that for many that is a hopeless wish, when ‘peace’ is the anxious moment before th next missile, bomb or knock on the door. So it has to be a prayer, and it’s my experience that when I pray the response I often get it, “well why don’t you do something about it?”

So here is my combined prayer-wish for you and for me for 2016 to be Blessed and at Peace by sharing both and working for the spread of both – and if you discover better ways of doing this, please share: together we can. Lots of Love David